History:  Because the Brittanydoodle is a newer hybrid, checking the parent breed can provide vital information to the character and nature of the new hybrid. Both parent dogs – the Poodle and the Brittany Spaniel – have a history of hunting and retrieving in their blood. It would be fair to say that the Brittanydoodle has inherited the hunting instinct from these dogs. The Brittany was named after the French province of Brittany. The exact origin of the Brittany is shrouded in mystery to this day, but it is known that in the 1850’s English gentry travelled to Brittany to hunt woodcock, taking with them their well trained Pointers, English, Irish, Gordon and Llewellyn Setters. The Brittany is one of the most popular dogs for bird hunting. It was first shown in France in 1896 and was first recognised by both the American Kennel Club and Canadian Kennel Club in 1934. The Poodle originated in Germany but developed into its own distinctive breed in France. There are several suggestions about its ancestry, but whichever is right, it is an old breed. The French used the larger Standard Poodle for duck hunting, the Miniature Poodle to sniff out truffles in the woods, while the main job of the Toy Poodle was to serve as a companion. The Poodle often travelled with Gypsies who discovered it was excellent to train as a circus dog. It is not known for sure when the Poodle arrived in the United States of America, but the AKC registered their first Poodle in 1886. Poodles were fairly rare in the United States until after World War ll. By the mid-1950s it had become the most popular breed in the country which was a position it held for more than 20 years. The Brittanydoodle seems set to carry on the popular lines of these dogs and is making a place for itself in dog owners hearts. Info source: https://wagwalking.com/breed/brittnepoo

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Temperament: These dogs have a good medium energy and will happily join you in a walk or a game. When you are walking the dog, keep them on a leash as they may wander off following their noses, leaving you behind. They are intelligent dogs who learn quickly, and they respect a strong leader. Socialise the puppies well to ensure they are good with children and other pets. These dogs need mental stimulation and physical exercise to keep them happy and healthy. The Brittanydoodle is an affectionate dog yet can be independent which provides a balance and they are easy to care for and are good-natured dogs. Their enthusiasm to go for a walk or have a game will bring a smile to your face, as they just love life. You will find that the Brittanydoodle gets along quite well with most other dogs because of the Brittany's sweet and gentle influence, however, proper socialization must still continue once the puppy is in your home as you would with any breed. A puppy can be socialized with other older dogs that have already had their vaccinations, and later socialized with other puppies once they have had their second vaccination.

Info source: https://wagwalking.com/breed/brittnepoo 

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Trainability: The Brittanydoodle is a dog that wants to please and has a sensitive side to its nature. When training this breed, use firm but kind language, and reward achievements with lavish praise and small treats. The Brittany and Brittanydoodle respond well to positive reinforcement with both verbal praise and treat rewards. As with any dog, consistency is key to all training, but the Brittanydoodle has definitely proven to be a fast and enthusiastic learner!

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Traits: Brittanydoodle are typically a quiet breed like the Brittany, although, they can inherit the "watch-dog" tendencies of the Poodle.  The Brittany is usually only vocal during play-time where they will vocalize their excitement. And the Poodle is known for alerting their owners to a strange sound or someone at the door.  With the combined traits of the Brittany and the Poodle, the Brittanydoodle is commonly a quiet dog in their daily routines, however, you can expect them to alert you to something happening around your home. The good thing about the Brittanydoodle mixture is that with the Brittany's influence of being quieter and their desire to please, this trait is usually at the forefront, and if your Brittanydoodle does inherit more of a vocal side from the Poodle, they are easily trained to "hush" with positive reinforcement. The Miniature Poodle (the size we use at Pleasant Meadows) is far less vocal than the Toy Poodle that is known for it's yappy tendencies. The Brittanydoodle is sweet, sensitive, and care-free and is a breed that will enjoy participating (on some level) in whatever activity you love, simply because they love you! They love a good daily walk or run, but are also happy with a simple active game with the family in the backyard -- a walk or run isn't always required if they have a good-sized fenced yard. They love to retrieve a ball, splash about in water, or take the challenge for an obstacle course. The Brittanydoodle is a highly intelligent dog who loves a mental challenge. If you have a fenced yard, they will keep themselves happy with one eye on you to see what you are up to, because they are people dogs and love to be part of the family scene. While they can be kept in an apartment, they do need to be exercised daily to make that successful. These dogs enjoy being walked 2-3 times per day if you don't have a fenced yard space for them to romp! Info source: https://wagwalking.com/breed/brittnepoo

 

The Brittanydoodle is a very social family dog that thrives on the companionship of their family and friends. Because of their social nature, those considering the Brittanydoodle should not leave their Brittanydoodle home alone for extended hours on end every single day.  A maximum rule of 4-6 hours for an adult dog should be applied, and we would still recommend breaking up your dog's day with a dog walker or doggy daycare at least 2-3 times per week if you have to leave your dog home alone on a daily basis while you work.  The Brittanydoodle is listed as a breed that suffers from separation anxiety, however, we have not found this to be problematic with the breed as we only approve applications from families who have enough time and means to devote keeping their puppies happy and healthy with ample human interaction.  The Brittanydoodle loves their family and bonds very closely with them, and so it's important to match our puppies with families who have the availability of coming home on work breaks, utilizing a dog walking or daycare service, or perhaps there are family members who work opposite work shifts.  There isn't a specific breed that suffers from separation anxiety -- it is a "man-made" problem because dogs are naturally pack animals and if we remove their ability to maintain pack security by isolating them and leaving them alone for extended periods of time -- that's how separation anxiety happens and it can happen with any breed of dog.

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Male VS Female:  This is a question that gets asked a lot, and there are only small differences between male and female Brittanydoodles! In larger breeds like some working lines, gender can play a bigger role in a dog's temperament, but in the Brittanydoodle where the Brittany is mostly bred as a companion dog these days, the differences are minimal when paired with the Miniature Poodle that was also bred as a companion dog. Brittany and Brittanydoodle females are typically more sensitive and composed, and males are undaunted and gallant. Both males and females can share each other's traits and both make wonderful family companions.  Females LOVE YOU and males are IN LOVE with you ... not a whole lot of difference there! :)

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Fur Maintenance:  Depending on the fur type your Brittanydoodle has inherited (more Brittany-like or more Poodle-like), this will determine how much brushing and grooming is required.  Generally, for less curly coats regular brushing is all that is required; for more curly coats professional clipping may be periodically required (approximately every 4-6 months).  The Brittanydoodle's fur can be left longer if brushed regularly, although it is still important to keep the area around the eyes trimmed short to avoid hair scratching at the eyes which can lead to irritation or infection. And it is also recommended to have a sanitary trim as needed depending on fur type and growth which involves trimming the excess hair around the bum and private area of your dog which helps avoid fecal matter getting stuck on the fur and in male dogs it may help you avoid urinary infections to keep his "undercarriage" fur buzzed short. This can easily be done at home if you purchase a shaving kit from Walmart or from a pet store, or it can be done by your groomer every few months or so.  The curlier coat of the F1B Brittanydoodle is very easily maintained if trimmed short every 3-4 months based upon your personal preference and how often you brush your Brittanydoodle. And the F1 Brittanydoodle usually does not need to be trimmed short unless it is your preference for ease of maintaining their fur, every 4-6 months is quite suitable for trimming.  Both coat types can be left long with proper and regular brushing, although you will find that less debris, mud and water, etc. will be tracked into your home if your Brittanydoodle's feet and legs are also trimmed shorter. It is like having good tires or boots that shed the water when travelling through a puddle.  Less fur = a cleaner home.

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Hypoallergenic Qualities: First off, there is no dog on earth that is 100% hypoallergenic -- not even the Poodle! It is better to look at it as there are breeds that are more likely to be "allergy-friendly" than other breeds. Poodles are among some of the breeds that are considered to be "non-shedding" because they have "hair" that continually grows as human hair does instead of fur that is short and sheds out regularly. But, a Poodle (and other "non-shedding" breeds) do still shed fur but do so minimally. When you brush a Poodle, it will be similar to brushing your own hair where a small amount of hair comes out in your brush. So, dogs that are "hypoallergenic" will often do well for families with allergies depending on how much a particular dog sheds, and based upon each individual person's allergies. Please see the info above regarding the fur types based upon the generation of Brittanydoodle. The purebred Brittany is known for being very low shedding and so when the Brittany is paired with a Poodle the results are often very low to non-shedding.

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Height:  Approximately 14-18 inches at the shoulder. Height is based on the height of the parents -- but it's not the whole picture.  When you cross a Brittany with a Poodle -- this enables the Brittanydoodle to draw from everything in both of the parents' gene pools.  This means that hereditary traits from generations back from both breeds can show up and be present in Brittanydoodles. Hybrid dogs also have the potential to sometimes exceed the size of their parents in height and weight in nature's version of "bigger is better".  Not outrageously bigger, but the size of Poodle bred to the Brittany also plays a big role in how large your Brittanydoodle will be -- at Pleasant Meadows we only use the Miniature Poodle. Spaying or Neutering a dog prior to 6 months of age also dramatically increases the chance of a puppy growing to an "odd size".  Please read more about this on our page -- The Best Time to Spay or Neuter.

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Weight: Approximately 16-30 pounds. Weight is proportioned according to a Brittanydoodle's height. Brittanydoodles are generally well muscled and lean, rarely pudgy. Once again, the size of the Poodle used to create the Brittanydoodle plays a huge role in the size of the Brittanydoodle -- most information regarding the Brittanydoodle are based on using a large Standard Poodle, and here at Pleasant Meadows, we only use the Miniature Poodle. The same also applies to the weight as it did for height and it can be affected by when the puppy is spayed or neutered, please refer to the link above.

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Life Expectancy: Approximately 12-14+ years. The Brittanydoodle's life expectancy is based on the health of the parents' lines -- however, the Brittany is a very healthy breed with very few health ailments and so the hybrid Brittanydoodle is a very exceptionally healthy mixture of breeds.

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Health: Hybrid dogs possess what is known as "Hybrid Vigor" or Heterosis -- a term used to describe the enhanced health resulting from crossing two compatible purebred dogs together to create a hybrid.  When two purebred dogs are crossed together their offspring are less likely to develop genetic faults since the gene pool has been widened.  Having a hybrid dog doesn't mean that your dog can't have a genetic problem related to each purebred parent -- but the likelihood is dramatically reduced.  Further, careful selection of the purebred parents by the breeder helps to avoid these issues.  It is important to note that no hybrid dog is "immune" to disease or health issues. Hybrid dogs generally have less genetic health problems, although, like any breed of dog, they can still be subject to "common" ailments.

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Take a look at our Breed History page to read about the history and health concerns for the Brittany and the Miniature Poodle.

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Hybrid or "Designer" dogs are now one of the most sought after puppies -- why?  Quite simply because purebred dogs have become very ill.  The inbreeding amongst the same gene pool over hundreds, and in some cases, thousands of years, has bred into breeds a multitude of diseases, cancers, and bone ailments.  If you think about it for a moment -- man created the dog.  We as humans bred dogs together that had desirable traits to suit a specific purpose of hunting, retrieving, herding, protecting, etc. and to solidify those traits -- we bred them again, and again, and again until we created the "perfect dog".  That is how every single one of the breeds that we know today were created.  All dogs were once wolves, and we bred them to be the dogs that we know today.  And by doing that, we also narrowed their gene pool and bred in a multitude of health issues.  The purebred dog world would have you believe that it is a "mortal sin" to mix two purebred dogs together to create a hybrid, but they forget that ALL of the purebreds that exist today WERE ONCE A MIXED BREED and are a combination of several breeds that were bred together to create one "superior breed" for a purpose.  The big question is, why did we stop?  Why is it now considered a horrific injustice to once again "create a new breed"?  The goal of reputable hybrid breeders is not to destroy the purebreds, but rather to improve the health of the purebreds by health screening our dogs the same as any other breeder of purebred dogs would do, and to grow with our ever-changing world and to have the right to do what our fore-bearers did many years ago -- to create "dog".

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Heterosis, or hybrid vigour, is a scientific phenomenon that was first discovered nearly 50 years ago and has been one of the most significant discoveries of all time. The theory of Heterosis is exploding everywhere from breeding dogs and livestock to growing superior vegetable and fruit crops in farms across North America. The basis of science (as it pertains to dogs) is that when breeding two purebred dogs -- only the superior genes carry forward -- this producing a significantly smarter and healthier dog!

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For more on Hybrid dogs:

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http://www.offroaders.com/directory/animals/Hybrid_Dog_Breeds.htm

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https://www.animalwised.com/advantages-of-having-a-mixed-breed-dog-316.html

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Info on Hybrid Vigor from Dogs to Plants:

 

http://renkseed.com/hybridization-what-is-going-on/